Quick 5 with Advit Sahdev on social media analytics

With massive data explosion on social media, Indian brands need to break the clutter with smart communication strategies. Brands need to understand the intricacies of social media and leverage tools to measure social RoI. In conversation with exchange4media, Advit Sahdev, Chief Executive Director and Founder, ODigMa explains how Indian brands can look at social analytics and how consumer-centric marketing can be used in the digital space.

How has marketers’ demand from social changed in the recent years? The biggest change that we see happening in 2012 is the usage of data. The internet is overflowing with data and everything that we do and use on the net is being logged into databases. Organisations that use this data effectively to study their consumers, gauge feedbacks on products and services, track conversations will emerge as winners in the social scene.

Most successful social media platforms are data-based and hence are leading the market. This growth in data usage is a result of individuals sharing data.

The next important industry development will be B2B companies using social media. They would eventually realise that social media is here to stay. Enterprises will be forced to use social media for their business for everything – from customer service to human resource.

With new engagement forms such as videos and apps coming up, what are your thoughts on visual brand building exercises via the internet in India?
Campaigns and videos have been the two most popular ways of brand promotions and marketing for a very long time now. Applications have the advantage of connecting one-on-one with a user and deliver a deeper level of brand experience. Any application helps a lot in brand development when relevance is present, which happens when it is connected with a campaign, which in turn is connected to an occasion. Similarly, short 30- to 40-second videos that convey a very strong message work great on the internet. Videos that do well do so just because they make a viewer ‘share’ the video. Indian marketers have realised this and have understood that apps and videos work multiple times better as compared to other medium.

How can brands measure their social RoI?
Social Return on Investment (RoI) is a very broad topic which starts from your follower base; talks about engagement and various associated metrics; measures your presence on social media; captures influencer interaction (for word-of-mouth marketing); and measures traffic (online or offline), interaction on the website, leads and finally transactions. We have noticed that most of the brands that have a keen focus on e-commerce are the ones who really want to understand social ROI. Other brands are still fine with measurement via traditional methods (reach and frequency).

ODigMa uses a combination of advanced analytical tools, customised in-house developed tools and human intelligence to present this data to the brands we work with. For instance, we have developed an in-house Facebook advanced insights tool that helps brands maximise on all possible engagement metrics.

What kind of campaigns has ODigMa engaged in?
ODigMa has done a lot of campaigns which include online and offline campaigns. An example of such a campaign is what we have done for a car launch in Ahmedabad where we had Facebook apps, live streaming of an outdoor event on Facebook, live chat with fans and offline picture clicking campaign. Apart from this, we have built a lot of apps for campaigns around occasions such as Christmas, Father's Day, etc. We have also done a lot of campaigns for product launches.

What are the various services that ODigMa offers in the digital marketing space?
ODigMais offers innovative solutions for companies to connect with consumers on the web. It helps brands listen to consumers online and engage in meaningful conversations with them. It combines an understanding of online marketing with creative and technology skills and builds digital brands. Today, the company has taken leadership positions in areas such as social applications, conversation platforms, influencer engagement programmes, Facebook fans management and engagement, goal conversions, amongst others.